


The Decision to Act

by Potrix



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Coming Out, Drinking, First Kiss, Gay Dex, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Haus Parties, Idiots in Love, Kegsters, Light Angst, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Nursey Patrol, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 05:58:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8653462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Potrix/pseuds/Potrix
Summary: Will really hates being on Nursey Patrol, but Nursey being the most annoying, helpless drunk Will’s ever met isn’t actually the reason why. No, Will’s problem is a different one; whenever Nursey drinks, he seems to forget that he can’t stand Will, and it gives Will hope. False, treacherous, painful hope.





	

**Author's Note:**

> These dumb boys. I can't stop reading/writing about them.

◦ ∙ The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.  
George Bernard Shaw ∙ ◦

Will hates being on Nursey Patrol.

Schwasted Nursey is, of course, even clumsier than sober Nursey, and whoever gets tasked with getting him back to his dorm will end up with at least one drink, or worse, spilled on them. The higher Nursey’s blood alcohol level gets, the less inclined he is to move by himself, meaning whichever poor soul has to take care of him for the night will have to half-carry his limp, wobbly, uncoordinated, 200-pound ass across the quad. And then Nursey will, more likely than not, have misplaced his jacket with his keys in it somewhere in the house, won’t remember where, and will need a place to crash.

Will really hates being on Nursey Patrol, but Nursey being the most annoying, helpless drunk Will’s ever met isn’t actually the reason why. No, Will’s problem is a different one; whenever Nursey drinks, he seems to forget that he can’t stand Will, and it gives Will hope. False, treacherous, painful hope.

Nursey’s usually sharp jabs will turn into easy, almost comfortable bickering, he’ll aim that unfairly gorgeous smile of his at Will instead of scowling at him, and he’ll get all touchy-feely, leaning into Will with an arm slung around Will’s waist, or resting his head on Will’s shoulders while they walk. Only to go right back to hating Will the next morning.

So when Ransom and Holster intercept him after team breakfast to inform him that he’s on Nursey Patrol for the kegster that night, Will nearly tells them no. But Holster and Ransom, for all their faults and quirks, are scarily perceptive sometimes, and they’d definitely realise something’s up if Will refused. And then they’d pry, because that’s how they show they care and worry, and Will would have to switch schools if it came out that he’s harbouring a huge, embarrassing crush on someone who’d probably love to punch him if it wouldn’t get him kicked off the team.

Which is why Will just mutters, “Fine, whatever,” before hurrying off to class, already resigned to the fact that he won’t be able to concentrate for shit today. 

When Will arrives at the Haus after dinner, the party is already in full swing. He waves at Lardo, who’s surrounded by some of her art friends, on his way to the kitchen, where he’s handed a beer and a piece of cake by Bitty, before being shooed back out with a, “Go enjoy yourself, honey.”

Ransom and Holster are playing beer pong, and descend into excited yelling and waving when they spot him, but Will just holds up his plate of pie, gives a faux-apologetic shrug, and leans against the wall by the stairs, neatly avoiding most of the chaos. His position also gives him a great view of the rest of the room, but Nursey’s deep in discussion with someone equally hipster looking, still on a respectable level of tipsy, so Will doesn’t interfere yet.

Chowder finds him a couple of minutes later, Farmer in tow, and Will’s happy to listen to them enthuse about all the things they want to do during their New York trip over Christmas, while silently sipping his beer. Farmer gets them all refills eventually, and then they’re joined by Lardo, and share a joint between the four of them. It is, although Will is reluctant to admit, a pretty chill evening.

Right up until a crash from the other side of the room draws everyone’s attention, and makes Will curse when he realises Nursey’s in the middle of what looks to be quickly devolving into a physical argument, going by all the shoving. “Goddammit,” Will hisses, and hands his half empty beer over to Lardo, before striding across the room with a loud, “Hey!”

The guy Nursey’s been arguing with—a fucking LAX bro, of fucking course—bolts at the sight of Will’s thunderous expression, but Nursey’s face breaks out into a huge, beaming smile when he spots Will. He throws up his arms in greeting, sloshing tub juice everywhere, and immediately proceeds to drape himself all over Will as soon as Will’s within reach.

Will lets him cling, and pries the cup out of his hand, setting it down on an already cluttered windowsill. “What was that all about?” he asks as he readjusts Nursey, pulling one of his arms over his own shoulders to stabilise him. “And who invited the fucking LAX team, anyway?”

“Dexy,” Nursey croons into Will’s ear, and Will wrinkles his nose because ew, tub juice breath. “That guy was a dick. A humongous dick. Like whoa.”

“He’s an English major, believe it or not,” Will tells the group of girls giggling at Nursey’s antics, then steers Nursey towards the front door, snagging their coats as they go.

Nursey is uncharacteristically cooperative, for once, even lets Will manoeuvre him into his jacket with only a minimal amount of fuss, and they manage to get to Nursey’s dorm with only a little bit of stumbling. Will clenches his teeth the whole way there, though, resolutely ignoring how Nursey tucks himself close against his side, and worms an arm around Will to shove his hand into the pocket of Will’s coat.

It’s when Will, after Nursey just slumps against the wall next to his door and closes his eyes, tries to search Nursey for his keys that things go south. Nursey, suddenly much more alert than a minute ago, grabs Will’s wrist when Will reaches for him, then presses his palm flat against Will’s. Nursey’s hand is warm, and incredibly soft. Will stares at the point of contact between them, mesmerized, so it takes him a moment to notice that Nursey’s talking.

“—don’t know how that’s even possible, bro,” he’s saying, wiggling his fingers against Will’s. “Your hands are so much larger than mine. But we’re the same height, which. Weird, right?”

Will blinks, then blushes, and tries to pull his hand away, only for Nursey to link their fingers together, and hold on. “Nurse, come on. Let go. Let’s get you to bed, all right? You’re wasted.”

Nursey bites his lip at that, grinning, slow and sly, when Will’s eyes drop down to his mouth. “You going to join me, Dex?” he asks, and tugs at Will’s hand, bringing it up to brush his lips over Will’s knuckles.

For a long moment, Will is completely frozen. Then he jerks into action, and finally yanks his hand out of Nursey’s grip. “That’s not fucking funny, you asshole,” he snaps, very aware that he’s blushing bright fucking red. “You’re—I—you know what, fuck you, Nursey. Just. Fuck you.”

With that, Will turns around, and runs. Nursey calls after him, but the blood rushing in Will’s ears is too loud, and he wouldn’t have stopped anyway. Because this? It’s too much. It’s not okay. Will has no idea if this is Nursey’s fucked up idea of a joke, if he knows about Will’s feelings and has decided to pull a prank on him, or if Nursey’s just drunk enough not to care who he’s inviting into his bed, but Will’s done.

He jogs across the street to his own dorm, glad that he has a single room when he slams the door shut behind himself. He toes off his shoes and takes off his jacket, but doesn’t bother with undressing before flopping down on his bed, and burying his face in his pillow to muffle his frustrated scream. Will doesn’t cry, he refuses to, but it’s a near thing. And if he gets a little chocked up, and has to bite the inside of his cheek against a sob or two, no one has to know.

Will doesn’t expect to fall asleep after all of that, but between one blink and the next, the sun’s suddenly shining in through the blinds he forgot to close, hitting him right in the face. Groaning, he rolls onto his back, and then up on his feet, stretching his arms above his head with a jaw-cracking yawn. He’s still pleasantly groggy from sleep, the events of last night present in the back of his mind, but blessedly muffled for now. To be dealt with later. Or, if it’s up to Will, never.

After grabbing his toilet bag out of his closet, Will moves out into the hall, and yelps when he nearly falls over the figure curled up on the floor. “Nurse? What the fuck?”

Nursey scrambles upright, but doesn’t seem to know what to do after that, awkwardly staring down at his shoes, one hand rubbing at the back of his neck. Will sighs, and takes pity on him. “What are you doing here?”

Nursey shrugs. “I wanted to apologise.”

“And,” Will prompts, raising his eyebrows, “you didn’t knock because?”

“It was late.”

Will blinks, looking at what Nursey’s wearing for the first time. “You slept out here?”

“Look,” Nursey says, and squirms, looking anywhere but at Will’s face. “I was drunk, we all know I don’t make the best decisions when I’m drunk.” He winces. “It made sense at the time. Anyway. I—look, Dex. Will, I’m sorry, okay? I was out of line last night. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, or,” his voice turns bitter, “offend your delicate straight sensibilities or something, so—“

“I’m gay, actually,” Will blurts, eyes widening a second later when he realises what he’s done. The only reason he doesn’t freak out about coming out to someone for the first time, on accident no less, is the way Nursey’s head snaps up, and his mouth drops open in shock. Will can’t help but laugh at him, and adds, “And you suck at apologising, just so you know.”

Nursey chuckles softly. “Yeah, so I’ve been told. And, uh. You know. Thanks for trusting me with this. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks,” Will says quietly. They fall into a somewhat tense silence, until Will decides, screw it. This is the longest they’ve talked without fighting in weeks. It’s now or never, and Will wants to clear the air between them. One way or another. “Did you mean it? Last night, when you—uhm, when you asked if I—if I wanted to, you know. Or," he says, voice hard to keep it from trembling, "were you just fucking with me?”

“You think I’d do that?” Nursey asks, sounding—sad? Hurt? Will can't tell for sure. “That I’d tease you about this? Will, fuck.” He tugs at his hair, and licks his lips. “You have to know I’m completely gone on you.”

Will stares at Nursey, incredulous. “Are you fucking kidding me right now, Nurse? How could I possibly have known? All you ever do is glare in my direction, and argue with me!”

“Well, you drive me crazy!” Nursey barks back, and, as if to prove Will’s point, narrows his eyes into a glare. “With your stupid, beautiful eyes, and your cute fucking freckles, and—and—and I didn’t have a handyman kink before I met you, you know, but here we fucking are now! And then you go and challenge me at every fucking turn, and you’re smart, you know what you’re talking about, and we end up yelling at each other, and I love it, you have no idea how much I love y—“

He cuts himself off abruptly, and Will’s treated to his first ever Derek Nurse blush. It barely shows on his dark skin, but Will sees it, and he wants to touch it. So he does; he drops his bag, touches the tips of his fingers to Nursey’s cheeks, then cups them in his hands, and leans in close, waiting with their mouths a hair’s breadth apart until Nursey nods before pressing their lips together.

Nursey sighs, and kisses back, one hand coming to rest on the small of Will’s back, the other on Will’s hip, thumb sneaking under Will’s shirt, seeking out skin. The kiss stays chaste, a dry press of lips, but it lingers, and when they pull apart, neither of them lets go of the other.

“Will,” Nursey breathes, eyes a little glazed.

Will pecks him on the lips again, then the cheek, and finally tucks his face into the crook of his neck, holding on tightly. “I’m pretty gone on you, too. In case that wasn’t obvious.”

When Nursey brushes a kiss over his temple, Will can feel him smile. “Good to know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written in answer to [a prompt on tumblr](http://potrix-the-queerschlaeger.tumblr.com/post/153499934243/14-nurseydex-pleasssssse).
> 
> Go check out my other [work](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Potrix/works), or come over and say hi on [tumblr](http://potrix-the-queerschlaeger.tumblr.com/).


End file.
